Wall Paintings of Genjo’s Travels

Artist Hirayama Ikuo spent decades retracing the route of the Chinese monk Xuanzang, known in Japan as Genjo Sanzo, making more than 150 pilgrimages along the Silk Road. His resulting 50-meter painting cycle at Yakushiji Temple, begun in 1980, spans seven scenes from the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an to Nalanda monastery in India. The panels trace Genjo's 17-year journey through the Gobi Desert, the Tian Shan mountains, the Buddha carvings at Bamiyan, and the Deccan Plateau. Painted in the Nihonga tradition of Japanese painting, the murals are only open for public viewing on select occasions.